Elgin Vet's Funeral Brings Out Hundreds; 'No Brother Should Be Buried Alone'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The crowds were staggering.
In Elgin, over 400 people turned out to mark the death of a Vietnam vet they never knew.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole has more from the services for John Murphy in Elgin, a hero once forgotten - but no more.
RELATED: Funeral For A man No Longer Forgotten In Elgin
They came by the hundreds.
"A veteran should never be alone at a time like this," said Patriot Guard Hank Clemmensen.
Active and retired military, police officers, firefighters and civilians.
"No brother should be buried alone," said William Smith of McHenry.
"It's a blessing. We only expected 10 or less," said Reverend Tim Perry of Nationwide Chaplains.
All to honor a stranger, an Air Force veteran they never knew.
"Because he's a veteran and if it affects one of us, it affects all of us," said Louis Reentsma of Poplar Grove.
John James Murphy was 71 when he died last month from pneumonia. He served as an Air Force jet engine mechanic for two tours of duty in Vietnam.
"Very friendly. Very friendly. We always joked," said Mahmood Kapadia of River View Rehab Center.
Murphy lived for four years at Elgin's River View Rehab Center but when he passed, though he spoke of a daughter and siblings, there was no family to contact.
Daniel Symonds is the Elgin funeral director who learned of Murphy's death, and offered through social media to organize his military funeral with honors.
The response was overwhelming.
"It's beyond words. It's just beyond words," Symonds said.
The honors included a flag draped coffin, and a military escort through the streets of Elgin to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Cemetary in Elwood, where along with thousands of other veterans John Murphy was laid to rest, in the company of those who remembered a forgotten life.
The outpouring in Elgin was impressive but here's a question: How many other John Murphy's are out there? And how many of those veterans could use your support and love before they pass?
John Murphy was one of the estimated 3,000 veterans who die each year without any family to claim their bodies and organize a proper burial.
